


when the shadow bares its skin

by brandywine421



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Clones, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2020-12-20 19:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21061961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandywine421/pseuds/brandywine421
Summary: A grocery trip shouldn't be a big deal - the language and culture was the same, enough anyway, and Joe hadn't raised a coward.Still, he was a displaced clone with anxiety issues so of course he made an easy mark with both arms filled with groceries. Before he could decide on fight or flight - a spinning projectile knocked out the gunman and a boot took the second thug to the pavement. The whole incident took less than two minutes, tops, and he hadn't made a decision of any kind.Barry blinked at the darkly dressed man standing over the attempted muggers. "Oh, wow, thanks, dude, but I could have totally handled that."He hadn't gotten around to researching the locals, he'd been focused on the alternate history of this Flash-less universe but he wasn't afraid. Granted, he also hadn't noticed the guys stalking him and his groceries so maybe he should be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't watched The Flash in ages so minimal DCTV knowledge is required.

> _"There wasn't - we didn't have a lot of options at the time. The multiverse - it's a big fucking deal without throwing clones into the mix."_
> 
> _Well forgive him for fucking existing. "A mercy kill would have been kinder - why let me - make me - live? Why didn't - "_
> 
> _"You're the only one that was fully developed. None of the others made it out."_
> 
> _"So now I'm damned."_
> 
> _"No - "_
> 
> _"Just - "_
> 
> _"No. I'll find a place. I swear to you. I'll find a place."_

* * *

"This place has mutants, mad scientists, secret military programs, just - totally different. Like, everything's different. It's - outside of the speed force."

He listened as Flash - not his maker, not his actual Original Code, not the seed for his memories - the other one, the one that bounced through the multiverses patching mistakes and making new ones. He was Barry Allen, not the Original, but a copy of a copy of a copy that shared a name.

His head hurt but he listened as the man wearing his face, the man who'd lived a life instead of having memories implanted, the man who'd come to his world to help and destroyed everything and everyone that mattered to him.

"Hey, are you listening? I know this is hard," Flash said with a desperate expression.

How could **he** know? Barry was living it and he didn't even know - his frustration and panic and horror sounded ridiculous when he tried to explain it to himself.

Yes, Flash found an abandoned warehouse full of sealed pods containing clones. Yes, there were over a hundred of deactivated copies of Barry Allen. Yes, Flash and his team 'accidentally' activated all of them in their battle with the mad scientist trying to fuck with the Speed Force. Yes, he was the only Barry Allen that had the full memory pack coded into his brain. Yes, he was the only living thing that made it out of the warehouse before it burned to ashes.

How could he tell Flash - his mirror image, adding a decade or so - that he missed his family, Joe and his sister Iris - when he'd never met them. How could he explain that he was still grieving for his father that died in jail for a murder he didn't commit - when he'd never been born? How could he put into words how terrified and alone he was without his friends when he'd never met them?

How could he be considered alive when his 'life' had been downloaded into his brain when he was growing in a pod?

"You'll be able to make a life here, one of your own. You - you can keep your history without having to fit it into a displaced timeline. I can't - this is the only thing I can do to make this even a little bit right, you get that, don't you?" Flash asked in a cracked voice.

"Tell me what happened in my 'verse," Barry said, digging his fingers into his knees. "Tell me from your side. Who made me, why and - "

Flash hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"I need to know. The last thing I remember was years ago if the signs were right before you brought me here. Felicity and Ray's wedding in Starling, that's - everything was fine then. Nothing - the metahumans were being handled by Joe's task force and - "

"Are you sure you want to know? I mean, maybe you want to keep your - past intact."

"It won't make it any less real than it is already. I need to know before - I need to be able to tell the difference. These memories are mine, they're all I have. Tell me what happened to the people I remember."

Flash turned away. "Okay. Okay. You hooked up with someone at the wedding, made a go of it for a few years."

Barry blinked. "Oliver?" They had a drunken dance and a makeout session but far from 'hooking up'. He couldn't have that memory?

"Yeah. He said that was the best place he could think of to cut off your memories since you died a couple of years later. He never got over it, never stopped trying to bring you back."

He took a long breath to try and stretch time enough for that to make sense. "Oliver wouldn't do that. And he's not smart enough for - "

"He had backup, your teams were merged together by then and it was a group effort - at first. When the government, and ARGUS and, well, everyone else, got involved and tried to stop them, everything got worse. Most of your friends are dead or in jail and - your Oliver, well, he wasn't a good guy anymore. It stopped being about getting you back as much as taking the speed from all of your copies. According to the records, he stopped giving the clones memories a while ago, you were just the last of the batch that got a dose."

Oh. Shit.

"You weren't the first one that worked, he just missed killing you when he killed the rest," Flash said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"I - probably didn't need to know all that. I'll probably regret it later if I don't eat a bullet," Barry murmured, covering his face. "But who's taking care of my world if everyone I know is evil?"

Flash raised his eyebrows. "Oh, sorry - not everyone. Wally looks after Central City and Ray and Leonard handle Starling."

"I don't know Wally but good job, Lenny," Barry murmured.

"Wally West. He's - "

Barry didn't need to hear anything else. "West. That's - okay. Okay."

Flash hesitated. "Okay?"

"How are you getting me to this allegedly non-Speed Force adjacent universe?" Barry asked. He needed to be - anywhere - that wasn't here. He needed to be anywhere that he didn't have a copy.

"I'm not actually allowed to know," Flash admitted. "Iris has a friend that's not from here, he's going to take you. He's the only one that can do it and she's the only person that I know you and I both trust enough to make that decision."

Goddammit it. "You sure I can't just have five minutes alone with a gun?"

"Please," Flash whispered. "Try this first. Give it a chance. Someone should get *something* out of this 'verse's mistakes."

"I think I'm this 'verse's biggest mistake, dude, but I'll at least wait until you're gone before I make it official," Barry said.

* * *

Barry didn't spend much time with the alien wizard that Flash's Iris seemed to know. The guy dropped him off at an apartment in a depressingly named neighborhood in New York City with full paperwork and credentials to do whatever he wanted - as long as that didn't include going home.

How could he go home when he wasn't real? Even if he did make it back to 'his' world, his memories were out of date and corrupted by his death and the survivors' sins.

No. Not thinking about that. He had a new life, a chance to have a real one that existed outside of a brain hack.

They left him with a few pictures, to display in case of prospective visitors that didn't believe he was a post-grad orphan who'd moved to the city to forget about tragedy. He had a library card and a full cable package with internet and he'd always been a top student. He as going to learn everything he could about this world before he dared become a real part of it.

It took two months for him to go out for groceries instead of just ordering delivery with his phone. He knew the city grid and Hell's Kitchen was only a few blocks to maneuver.

No one was hunting for him. No one - he had nothing to fear here. He figured that's why it was a mulligan 'verse - there was no such thing as a 'metahuman' and the closest thing to a speedster was a mutant called Quicksilver, which, surely Cisco would agree was a great name.

A grocery trip shouldn't be a big deal - the language and culture was the same, enough anyway, and Joe hadn't raised a fucking coward.

Still, he was a displaced clone with anxiety issues so of course he made an easy mark with both arms filled with snacks and staples. Before he could drop his loot and decide on fight or flight - a spinning projectile knocked out the gunman and a boot took the second thug to the pavement. The whole incident took less than two minutes, tops, and he hadn't made a decision of any kind. He'd been rescued. The fuck?

Barry blinked at the darkly dressed man standing over the attempted muggers. "Oh, wow, thanks, dude, but I could have totally handled that."

He hadn't gotten around to researching the locals, he'd been focused on the alternate history of this Flash-less universe, but the guy's defensive stance and blood-dripping fists reminded him of Oliver. He wasn't afraid but he also hadn't noticed the guys stalking him and his groceries.

"Yeah?" Man in Black asked, with a curious look. The mask covered his eyes, no fancy frills or vision holes. Huh. "I'll try and remember not to intervene next time if that's the case. You got a phone?"

It seemed like a stupid question - he wasn't going to loan a random stranger his phone. Things weren't *that* different here.

"Never mind, I'll do it," the guy said, pulling out a phone of his own and calling the cops before he tossed the phone into the garbage and parkoured up the building and out of sight.

He didn't need to see the upper half of the guy's face to know it wasn't Oliver - the swagger was all wrong - but the presence of a vigilante made him feel a lot safer - and one that called the cops? He didn't want to call it an upgrade but, maybe?

He wasn't the real Flash, but he had his speed and his memories - fake memories and real speed - right, he should go before the cops turned up. He wasn't real, but he was real fast and was home and locked up before he had a chance to think any more.

He didn't know enough about this 'verse, this world - his fucking forever home, fuck you very much Cisco - to risk being captured.

No one in all the 'verses and timelines would come to his rescue because he wasn't real.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

  
Barry met his neighbors four days after Daredevil, the neighborhood watchman and hero, 'rescued' him from a mugging. He was starting to doubt that he'd ever learn enough to make a 'life' here, let alone friends. But that was before Franklin 'call me Foggy' Nelson introduced himself in the hallway and convinced him to neighbor-sit his accident prone best friend.

He had never been good at coming up with excuses on the fly and followed the overly friendly lawyer with a sales pitch to match, up two flights of stairs.

"Matt? Your neighbor's here to watch you."

_"What? Fran?"_

Foggy rolled his eyes. "No, she still hates you and everything you stand for - the new one. Has he seriously not introduced himself yet?"

Barry shook his head but he recognized the blind guy that hobbled out of the back room. Foggy huffed but didn't rush to help him despite his visible limp.

"You're the welcoming committee for Hell's Kitchen, not me, Fogs. Why are you bothering my neighbors?" Matt asked when he finally made his way to the couch and lowered himself with a muted grunt.

"Mr. Nelson said you needed someone to stay with you while he ran some errands," Barry said with a curious glance at Foggy.

"You're supposed to stay off your feet as much as possible and I really need you in better shape next week," Foggy frowned, mouthing an apology. Huh.

"I don't need a sitter, but he's welcome to keep me company if it'll make you - or him - feel better," Matt said with a stiff wave. "I'm going to be fine for trial next week - "

"I'm done listening to him say he's fine when he slept through the doctor's instructions. I'll be back in three hours and my number's on the fridge. Please don't let him leave the apartment, you have full permission to spritz him with the water bottle if he gives you any lip," Foggy said, pressing a spray bottle into his hands before darting out of the room like *he* was a speedster.

Matt waved him over to the couch. "Sorry about all that. My friend's overprotective and I'm - accident prone. We have a big trial set for next week and I'm on medical restriction. Matt Murdock," he offered his hand.

Barry shook it firmly, taking note of the calloused knuckles and scarred palms out of place on a lawyer. Matt hummed and he realized he'd been sized up, too. "Barry Allen. Are you a lawyer?"

"Yeah, Foggy and I have a firm together. Super said you were some kind of scientist from the Midwest."

Was this an interrogation after all? His curiosity was slowly tilting toward panic.

"Don't worry, I've got way too much on my plate right now to look into whatever you're hiding from," Matt said. "But I've been told I'm shit at making friends and you seem like you need one. And I need you to have one because you're pinging all my triggers."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm blind but I have great hearing. I also have a colorful psych history that includes auditory hallucinations - so when you spend hours telling yourself that you're not real, it's troubling."

Barry lost his breath. "I'll start closing the windows - " And move, immediately, oh God.

Matt waved his hand. "Won't help and I'm going about this wrong. Do you need help, Mr. Allen? Because if you're a mutant or a recovering sentient weapon or an alien on the run - "

"Oh wow," he whispered. Were those his options? What was a 'recovering sentient weapon'?

"Foggy and I represent clients of all backgrounds, that's all," Matt said, leaning forward with a wince. He raised his hand to his chest. "You're definitely real, though. You have a heartbeat even if it's faster than I'm used to hearing, you have blood in your veins and you're corporeal. Can you just agree that all those statements are true?"

"I'm not an alien or a weapon. And I don't have the X-gene," Barry said even if all his instincts were still screaming that he should run.

"And you're real," Matt stated.

He wouldn't go that far.

"You think you need fingerprints to be real? As a scientist, is that what you consider the deal-breaker?"

"It's complicated," Barry whispered, looking at his hands. How the hell did -

"Next week, Foggy and I have to convince a jury why a ten year old boy with gills should be allowed to use the public pool," Matt sighed. "We have to challenge a law, a government, that wants to say he stopped having rights because he woke up different."

Shit.

Matt shifted with another wince. "You never have visitors and you only talk to yourself in whispers, or in your sleep. You don't have to tell me anything, but please don't think you're alone in whatever you're dealing with. If you need help - "

"I don't," he said quickly. "But I'll - keep it in mind."

"I can't turn off my hearing so I can't apologize for eavesdropping. But I can keep a secret," Matt said.

He took a deep breath and nodded. "It hasn't always been this way, with the laws, right?"

Matt shook his head. "No, and I have to believe that it won't be this way forever but right now, we work with what we have."

Barry believed him. This battered blind - human - lawyer was fighting for the safety and rights of people that could break him like glass. He couldn't know enough about Barry to just invite him over for a chat like this - he was a brave, breakable guy.

"See, Foggy can fuck off, I'm great at making friends," Matt said a few minutes later when Barry pressed a bottle of water into his hand and stuffed a pillow against his side before he tipped over.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

  
After his afternoon with the curious lawyer, Barry started paying more attention to current events and the history of mutant rights along with his crash course on geography and science lingo. A mutant and a metahuman walk into a bar - no, that was a bad joke with a worse punchline.

Things were different enough for him to see how similar they were, which was fucking scary.

The one major change after his first visit was that it turned into more visits. Foggy was definitely the friendly one of the pair but Matt had snark and would argue ethics for days. They were good people and Barry wanted to be friends with good people. He wanted to be human enough, real enough, to have friends.

He didn't want to be a hero, not anymore. He counted himself lucky to only have memories of a couple of years as The Flash - he didn't suffer as much of the soul-crushing losses that seemed to be the endgame for superheroes in any universe.

But he was trying to pay better attention now that he was making regular, daily almost, trips outside of his safehouse. He wouldn't walk - or run - away from danger if he stumbled into it, that would never be his way. So when he found himself on the wrong street at the absolute worst time - he didn't run.

He didn't yell at the Man in Black that he wasn't getting mugged either - and he should have - but there weren't any muggers and it took a moment for him to get that the danger he sensed all around him was because of Daredevil and not low tier robbers.

"You need to go," Daredevil growled, slipping out of the shadows long enough for Barry to glimpse his shape before slipping away again.

"Is everything okay?" Barry caught a glimpse of more - shit, a lot more - movement in one of the darkened buildings. Military warehouse. Oh no. Worst street, worst time.

"Shit. Look, I don't know what your thing is but definitely don't do anything - wonky - right now. There are agents everywhere," Daredevil murmured in his ear. "They're not looking for you, but if you're enhanced, they'll take you anyway. Keep your head down, they're not here for you and we're not here for them. We're here to get our - stuff."

"I can help," Barry whispered. This wasn't about 'stuff'. "Not in the fight, but - I'm fast. That's my thing."

Daredevil went still, only his jaw moving. "Can you carry people?"

"Yes," Barry replied, not sure what he was volunteering for but unable to just hide if 'agents' were prowling for metahumans, or whatever they called them here.

"There are five kids of varying ages in the third van." Daredevil motioned vaguely to a small parking lot. "One of them is my friend - if you can get them out, take them to my place - Miles will know what to do from there."

"Your place?" Barry hissed.

Daredevil pushed his mask back to his hairline and blinked at him vacantly. "I thought you figured it out."

Oh _wow_, he totally wouldn't have figured it out. He reached out and pulled Matt's mask down to his nose. "You got a plan?"

"Sure, and a sniper," Matt replied. "They're waiting for my signal so it's going to get loud and then it's going to get dark."

"I'll text you when I get them clear," Barry nodded, not wanting to get too much detail when he was a walk-on.

Matt tapped at his ear. "Just say it when you get the last kid and I'll hear you. Miles will try to join the fight so you have to tell him that I can't fix it for him if he shows up here. He has to stay and handle the others."

"I'll handle the babysitting while you handle whatever this is," Barry said.

* * *

Barry shuddered with visceral sympathy when he saw the group of pre-teens and teens shackled in the van with thick collars. "Suppressants?" he asked aloud and one of the kids leaned forward.

"Who are you?"

"I'm here to get you guys out of here, I'm supposed to ask for Miles," Barry said, remembering the sparse instructions.

"That's me, and yeah - these things block powers and zap us out if we're more than ten feet away," the same kid responded, perking up.

He leaned in and studied the cruel collar. "I can vibrate it off, just - hold your breath." It fucking worked just like he remembered and he dropped the splinted device to the pavement. "Let's make this quick and we'll move to the next step - everyone think they can hold their powers in check?" There was a group nod and shrug so Barry went to work, freeing all five kids and corralling them in front of him.

"What's the plan?"

"We're going to the meeting point. Your friends can't finish their - stuff - until I confirm that step, so, you two - close your eyes and count to five when I say so," Barry decided, turning to the two biggest kids.

They actually listened and he grabbed them by their belt loops and dropped them off at Matt's with instructions to wash up and hang tight. He was back with Miles and the two girls in under a minute. "Okay, the one that weighs the least can piggyback and the other two - " Miles and the blonde wrapped their hands around his biceps while the brunette climbed on his back.

"Counting down from five, show us what you got," the girl on his back said and Barry smiled.

* * *

"I don't actually know Matt well enough to rummage through his kitchen," Barry admitted to Miles after the kids were settled and clean in Matt's sparse apartment.

"I do, are you absolutely sure I can't go help?" Miles asked, dipping past him to raid the fridge. "Cassie, Kate - can you hook up the laptop under that table?"

"Absolutely sure," Barry replied. He didn't think the kid - any of them - would stay put for long so he was relieved when Matt and a few straggling strangers tumbled through a roof entrance he hadn't noticed until it swung open.

"Roll call," Daredevil ordered but they didn't fall into a neat line like trained soldiers or obedient minions. Miles rushed him like a linebacker and Barry winced at the thought of his ribs when the other two boys piled on.

Oh, he'd probably hurt his ribs when they took his kid - no wonder the mission outweighed the risks.

A bigger guy in body armor and biceps for days checked over the girls, military but tender as he checked their hands, chins and searched their faces for lies.

Barry turned his back on the scene, memories of Joe and Iris and - no - not memories because he wasn't real.

"Breathe, Hummingbird, hard part's over for the night," a woman said, hands shaking him out of his momentary lapse.

"Hummingbird?"

"Matt says your heartbeat's too fast to track, like a hummingbird. Here, drink."

He took the cup she held out and gulped it expecting coffee but getting the burn of whiskey. "Seriously?" he coughed.

"Woke you up, didn't it? Matt says you're his new science guy, let me know when you start doing consults."

Barry blinked at her. "Science guy?"

"I'm a PI. He said you used to do forensics?" She raised her glass to him. "Our street team's full up, but we can always use more brains on the back end."

"I'm Barry," he said, offering his hand.

"Jessica Jones. Make sure Matt gives you my card, he can't hoard all the connections in this town," she added.

* * *

"Captain?"

"Don't start with me right now, Double D," the tall black man said as he blipped onscreen.

Matt paused with a thoughtful expression but no one else jumped into the conversation, the kids cleared the room like the school bell had rung. Barry had so much research to do on these people.

The Captain flinched sharply with widened eyes. "Wait. *You* called *me* - did - "

Matt sighed and made a shooing motion so Barry would stay out of frame. "I got five."

The man's face flashed with blatant relief but Barry tunnel-visioned on the 'five' mention. Were there more children in collars? How was this a safe place if they collared children?

"The kids?" Captain whispered.

Matt nodded once. "Spidey confirms their ages are still secure, they didn't break under questioning."

"Are they all right?"

"As far as I can tell," Matt said. "Look, you guys have to figure out how they're getting the names, only one of the five is enhanced."

He slowly put the pieces together. The kids were targeted for their skills, not their ages. "It's the tech," Barry said.

Captain's eyes narrowed immediately. "Who's that?"

"You don't get to ask about my people," Matt snapped and the man raised his hands onscreen in deference.

Barry picked up the kids' stray equipment. "Your squad didn't wear uniforms, only military issue armor," he said, thinking of the sniper on the roof. "These arrows are specialty, this gear is all - they had to get the supplies from somewhere, it's all specialty."

"They make it themselves," Matt said, head tilted with thought.

"But they talk to each other and probably share connections," Captain said. "They're targeting the non-powered heroes because the mutants are making headway getting the laws overturned. And we can't go public without exposing their identities - or ages."

"Two out of the five are vigilantes, don't drop that 'hero' label unless you can back it up with full insurance coverage," Matt said.

Captain held up his hands again. "I'm not sniffing around the ducklings, D, just talking it out."

Matt finally seemed to relax and unclenched his fists, sagging against the counter. "Sorry. It's been a long night. Colleen's going to bring Cassie and Sam back to California, drop Kate off wherever on the way."

"What do you need for Miles and Harley?"

"Harley wants to make sure his mother's commissary account is full," Matt replied. "They both want to finish the semester and Miles' family will be back by summer, right?"

Captain squared his shoulders onscreen. "We're making a lot of progress. Can I buy you a beer when I'm in town?"

"Off the clock, absolutely. Do we need to conference before you testify for Congress?"

"Don't rush me, I've got three weeks to prep. You're my final stop. You still giving me Foggy?"

For all Matt claimed his work was 'street level', it sounded like he had his hands in the higher levels in his real name. Barry wasn't sure that was safer or not.

"As if I could keep him away, but we're going to talk about his security because I'm still not okay with letting him out of my sight," Matt said. "You know what I mean."

"I'll be in touch. Can I pass along the news?"

"Please, you know I hate that call tree bullshit. They'll have burner phones by morning." The screen went dark and Matt lowered himself to sit down. "You must think we're assholes sending children out to fight - "

"No," Barry interrupted. "Well, maybe at first."

Matt smiled and let his fatigue show in the shadows of his face. "We tried making them stop but - the best we could do was get them reasonably supervised. Our big players are off-world. Some kind of universe emergency that requires their full attention and absence so the rest of us are stuck here dealing with this new world order. It's been two years since they fucked off but it's only been a few months since we figured out that most of the new vigilantes aren't old enough to vote."

He was suddenly relieved that he hadn't 'lived' long enough to see his own home 'verse fall into this much havoc. Was the Flash considered a superhero? Would he be off in space while Earth had to pick up the pieces of his vanishing?

Barry didn't want to be that kind of superhero, he'd stick to the vigilantes that were picking up the slack if he had to choose. Not that he was getting involved in anything - he had too much to learn.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know legit nothing about these kid characters (other than Miles because he has a movie) apart from their names and what I've read in fanfic. We're all just trying to have a good time here. Let me know if I made any blatant errors in my backstory of vagueness.

The kids flooded back into the room when Matt was done with his call to Captain America, the one on call for Earth since the other three were apparently in space.

Barry's non-reaction to the name drop had outed him as even more of an outsider but the assorted kids didn't seem to hold it against him. He learned that Frank Castle was the soldier sniper that was ONLY to be called if children were involved because of his fondness for chaos and bloodshed. He learned that Cassie, Kate and Harley all had direct links to superheroes that were 'off-world' and Miles and Sam were personally motivated vigilantes that shouldn't be questioned.

He'd also picked out that Miles and Sam were Matt's favorites but he wasn't sure if it was because of those personal motivations or something else. Sam lived in California with a sister, but Miles went to a private school with Harley in the city.

Iris had been the babysitter in the family, but after sitting with the group for a couple of hours - it was obvious that Frank was the only person with parental experience. Jessica shared her whiskey with Kate, until Frank made her stop, and Sam sharpened eight knives pulled from hiding places in the apartment, until Frank made him stop. Cassie and Harley were settled with the laptop and Frank almost made them stop but wasn't able to find a good reason.

Miles hadn't left Matt's periphery at all, staying within his reach and Barry realized that the kid was worried. Not about their days of captivity or all the military guys that were hunting them - but about Matt. They were close but there was no sign in the apartment that the kid stayed here regularly.

"You're thinking really hard, you all right?" Kate asked, rosy-cheeked but not pouting over being cut off from her nightcap.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, just, this was a surprise," Barry admitted.

"We won't tell anyone about your whole running thing. Matt warned us and if anyone knows the stakes of keeping secrets, it's this gang," she replied.

He'd always been shit at keeping his identity a secret. But he hadn't been hunted like these kids.

"Are you on the Index?" Kate asked quietly.

"There's an index?" Barry whispered.

She whistled low. "You're not from here, are you?"

"Kate. Leave him alone," Matt called from across the room.

"Turn your ears off, Snoop, we're just talking," Kate fired back at him. Matt gave her the finger until Frank made him stop. Yeah, Frank was the only parent in the room.

"Where are - do any of you have families looking out for you? Or just - this seems like a lot for kids your age to handle," Barry said. He had to remember the super-hearing.

"Oh. We all have our own drama," Kate replied after a beat. "Miles has, like, a mom and a dad - both still alive and awesome, just, currently out of the country dealing with some shit. I've got a couple of families, the one I chose and the one I'm not old enough to legally unchoose. Harley's got a mom locked up for unrelated shit, Cassie's Dad is missing in space like the rest and Sam - he's got a sister and a bunch of stuff we don't talk about."

"That's - still a lot to handle," Barry murmured.

"You seemed to know what you were doing out there tonight, not like it was your first time rescuing people," Cassie said without looking away from the computer screen.

"Why is your dad in space?" he blurted out.

"That information is above our pay grade," Harley replied when Cassie bit down hard on her lip. "Matt swears they went willingly, that it was planned but there's no way they would have agreed if they knew it would be for this long."

"We don't know, but we can't do anything about it because we aren't astronauts and don't know anyone from space personally. So if you're an alien with, like, intergalactic CNN - " Kate started.

"I'm not an alien or a mutant," Barry said. "I'm sorry. I don't have any contacts. I mean, you're right, I'm not from here, but I'm not from space either."

"Matt said you don't have to answer their questions," Sam announced, joining Kate on the couch with a new set of knives.

"Multiverse?" Harley asked, ignoring the warning.

Barry blinked at him.

"They're above our pay grade, too," Cassie said. "Since we don't get paid, we don't know much."

"I saw my mother killed when I was ten and they locked up my dad for it even though he didn't do it," Barry said, carefully. "A detective took me in and I went into criminal justice to try and keep mistakes like that from happening again. I didn't get my speed until I was in my twenties. I wouldn't have been able to deal with having - skills when I was your age."

"Maybe, but that was probably before the world's heroes disappeared," Sam said.

"You're in your twenties now, right? How long have you had your speed?" Kate interrupted. "Is that why you're not on the Index?"

"I'm not from here," Barry sighed. He held out his hands, palms up. "And none of my memories are actually mine."

Sam yanked his hand over with a surprised sound. "No fingerprints. Robot?"

"No," Barry laughed softly. "That would be a lot simpler. I'm from a multiverse, just not yours. I'm told I died about six years ago on my world and some of my - friends - I'm calling them friends because I died before they went supervillain - decided to bring me back."

"You're a clone," Cassie whispered.

"I'm here because there's no chance of ever running into another Barry in this universe. I'm a metahuman, something that doesn't exist here."

"You can never let them catch you," Harley said sharply.

"I wasn't planning on using my speed, but I didn't know that they arrested kids for having powers either," Barry defended.

"Never tell anyone where you're from, either, they'll find a way to get back to your 'verse," Cassie said.

Barry shrugged. "Don't know how I got here anyway, they made it a rule when they dropped me off."

"We're sorry your life sucks but we're glad you're here," Kate said. "None of our ideas for getting out of the collars would have worked as fast as what you did."

"Matt will look after you," Sam said. "Nothing against the mutants, but we need you on our team more than they do."

Barry wasn't sure if that was supposed to be reassuring or not.

* * *

"Hey. If they come for you, we got your back," Castle said darkly.

Barry smiled despite himself. "That's sweet but please don't shoot anyone on my account. Ever."

"Can't make that promise," he shrugged but Barry appreciated his honesty. "You want to help?"

Yes but he -

"I need a mentor," Harley announced, glaring at Frank. "I build a few guns and they want to pawn me off to this guy."

Barry looked at the lanky kid. "Are you a sprinter?"

Harley scoffed. "I saw those books in your bag, we're kindred spirits."

Frank glared at the kid before giving Barry a shrug. "You're smart as fuck but the kid's probably smarter. You can help each other."

"You're a normal dude, I'm a normal dude," Harley nodded.

"Well, I'm a clone that can run faster than sound," Barry stated.

"Clone stuff doesn't matter, robot would be a different story - and you told us, like, ten minutes ago that you don't do the speed thing on the regular," Harley said. "Please?"

Barry spotted Kate lowering herself from one of Miles' webs and Cassie huddled behind the sofa. He didn't spot Miles and Sam hiding in the shadows until all four kids tackled Matt to the floor in a savage noogie attack.

"That's training to them, give me some math please?" Harley whispered. Miles went spinning through the air behind him followed by Cassie as Matt gained two of his limbs back for kicking or punching.

"On one condition - you fill in the blanks in these Midgardian history books," Barry said.

Harley and Castle laughed. "Matt gave you the alien handbook? Yeah, I can definitely help with that," Harley promised.

"They printed those up years ago, before shit got bad," Castle said. "Now that Red's letting you make introductions, we can help you get more up to speed."

"I don't have a military background, but I know - knew - a lot about police procedure back - home," Barry said.

"Don't censor yourself, it makes you sound like a liar," Harley said. "How are you with quantum physics?"

"See, already helping each other," Castle snickered.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: Again using the A. Garfield version of Spider-Man to age him the way I want.

Barry considered himself a crappy mentor, but he thought he was turning into a decent friend after being 'adopted' by the local registration resistance force. He'd taken a part-time job in the CSI lab on the referral of a cop under Daredevil's umbrella and while he didn't interfere, it was helpful to know exactly who and what the cops were chasing. The local force had a soft spots for kids and the gossip had given them a head's up in time to save a lot of kids from the Index.

Harley spent his weekends on Barry's couch, usually with Miles because all the tech seemed to live better in his apartment than Matt's. Naturally, that meant he spent a lot of time at Matt's while the kids battled each other at video games or bickered over the video link with Kate, Cassie and Sam. He'd learned that Matt had been spending the weekends at the Morales home but with Harley hanging out - he got to sleep in his own bed.

Foggy caught them two beers into a chess match today, the kids sorting Matt's laundry for some kind of penance and Barry could tell immediately that something was off with the 'nice lawyer'. "You have to go to Avengers HQ upstate. Now."

Matt slowly lowered his bottle and clenched his fists, waiting for the knuckles to crack. "Explain."

"Next of kin. Barry, can you drive?"

Matt was already on his feet.

Foggy turned to Barry with a serious expression completely out of place on his face. "Don't let him talk to anyone, he'll never get out of there."

"I didn't think you were supposed to engage with the superheroes," Barry said to Matt, not comfortable with the level of stress from the steady half of the set.

"It's Peter," Matt whispered, which didn't answer any of his questions but was some kind of siren call for Miles and Harley who zipped to their side.

Miles took Matt's hands and squeezed. "Does that mean - "

"I'm his next of kin, I don't know about anyone else," Matt replied blankly, tucking Miles against his waist and reaching out to squeeze Harley's shoulder. "Are your phones on? Keep your phones on."

"It hasn't hit the news yet, it's - family only," Foggy told Barry who still had no idea what was happening.

"Peter was in space," Harley said finally. "Matt didn't want him to go."

"You have to go get him, bring him home," Miles said, pulling back and poking Matt in the stomach. "We'll stand down until you call us."

"Barry has one of the untraceable phones, he can text us as soon as you get inside the place," Harley added.

He wasn't going to risk turning it on inside a surveilled building but he nodded anyway. Space, so he was one of the MIA Superheroes.

"Can I ask who has him? I mean, you said Registration happened after they disappeared, won't he get tagged if he's in government custody?" Barry asked, carefully.

"Not if we get to him first," Matt said, shaking out of his daze and tugging on his tie. "If he's where he left from, it's private land, private lab but not everyone that was on the original roster is still on staff. I want - "

"Sounds like we're wasting time, you can explain it in the van - do I get the van?" Barry asked Foggy, holding out his hand. He took the keys, Matt took his arm and Barry glanced back at the kids to give them what he hoped passed as an encouraging smile before zipping them to the parking lot.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" Barry asked when they'd made it out of the city and into the unfamiliar rolling hills beyond.

"Peter's my friend. Harley's damned right - I didn't want him to go to space, he's - Fuck, I can't," Matt covered his face. "I have to respect his choice. I have to. They needed him and he would never walk away from someone in need - but - we needed him, too."

Ouch. "Next of kin, though?" he dared after a moment.

"His aunt passed away. He doesn't know yet," Matt whispered.

Fucking ouch.

"He probably wouldn't have gone to fucking space in the first place if she hadn't pushed him," Matt snapped. "_'Oh, don't worry about me, Peter, I'll be fine'_, and _'Matty can take care of me, you go fight aliens with your friends'_ \- and she gets hit by a fucking taco truck. She loved tacos, I mean - "

"Matt," Barry interrupted. "Are you getting this out of your system before you see your friend?"

Matt let out a hysterical laugh. "How could you tell?"

"Just making sure. Tell me about him," Barry said as Matt started to compose himself.

Matt took a deep breath, swiping his face before replacing his red glasses for armor. "He was the first friend I ever made in the mask. I was solo for years, you know? Never asking for help or calling for backup because I didn't trust anyone else to fight my battles - and here he comes swinging into the middle of a turf war when I've got a sword stuck in my guts and a gun to my head - didn't know me from Adam, just, helped. He helped."

"That's kind of what you guys do, right?" Barry smiled.

"You don't get it - I was an asshole, fought like he was the one that stuck the sword in me," Matt said, smiling faintly. "He webbed me to the wall of a motel room and stole a couple of pints of blood to fix me up. Told me I had to step up my profanity game and fix my armor."

"And the rest was history?"

Matt sighed. "Yeah. He found out I was a lawyer, threatened to start giving out cards. Then he made friends with Foggy and his aunt - his aunt was an amazing woman. Treated me like family. I didn't have a mom growing up, but she was the closest I'll ever come to knowing what it was like. Feels like forever since I've been lectured. She's the one that sniffed out Miles, Peter is going to flip when he finds out the punk's been suiting up since he left Earth."

Barry huffed out a laugh. "Make Miles tell him, and make sure I'm there to see it."

* * *

"Hey. Thanks for coming so quickly," Sam Wilson, previously known as Cap, greeted them. Matt explained that he passed the title back as soon as they hit Earth's atmosphere.

"No problem. Can you tell me anything?"

Sam winced. "Not much. Apparently, time passed differently in space and they think they've only been gone a couple of months. Most of them should still be in medical but once we dropped the date bomb, plus the fact that the new laws have their families' phones tapped - "

Barry gave a low whistle. "Then why call Matt?"

Sam gave him a steady look but Barry didn't back down. "I made him a promise."

Matt reached out and clasped his hand. "Thank you."

"We're beyond favors now, man. Is Foggy pissed he didn't get the call?"

"I was advised not to bring up any outstanding legal cases without calling him first, but you know at least three of them are on my radar - and that's without the upcoming Congressional testimony in the mix."

Sam nodded. "I can make introductions, you know more about how it works in the US on a day to day basis."

"One thing at a time, take me to Peter."

"You don't live here full time?" Barry asked Sam as they walked.

"I'm staying in Wakanda for political asylum reasons, my family's in Harlem," Sam replied quietly.

"And we know nothing about Harlem," Matt lied. Sam smiled and elbowed him. "Totally out of our area."

"Of course," Barry said. "Never heard of it. Are we going to be able to take Peter with us?"

"He's the lawyer," Sam replied. "I'm prepared to sneak whoever wants out of the country to keep them out of government custody but - "

"We didn't hear that, I'm wearing my lawyer mask today, totally didn't hear that," Matt said.

* * *

Peter Parker didn't say a word when Matt stepped into the cushy conference room, he just looked at his face and collapsed into his arms. Next of kin. _Damn_.

Barry kicked a chair in the corner and Matt guided his friend out of the main space so he could try and block the view of the double breakdown happening. A room full of strangers wasn't a problem since he was in a world of strangers and he had instructions from his assigned apprentice.

Matt's instructions were simple - do not engage - but Harley, well, he made everything a process with multiple steps.

Step one - check the returnees for recognition.

He put the bag of spare clothes and supplies on the table and pulled out an origami swan. He had no idea what that was about but he placed it aside.

"Fuck your sanity check inner peace bullshit, I ain't folding no cranes," one of the men said, perking up from the conference room table. He narrowed his eyes at Barry, studying the paper art suspiciously. "Who are you? Shrink?"

"Nope," Barry shrugged. He snatched the paper swan and unfolded it, his face lighting up after a beat and holding up a picture of that ugly one-eyed dog that he knew lived with Kate. Hawkeye - Clint Barton. The other guy, the older one with the goatee was obviously Tony Stark, Harley's idolized 'sort of friend'. 

Barton turned his sniper's eyes back to him. "You know - "

"Nope, never met her in my life," Barry replied. "I mean, I hear she hangs out with sheep and chickens, so it's not like we'd have anything in common." He placed a phone on the table and went back to the bag, pulling out another burner phone.

Stark watched Barton take the phone and frowned sharply at the nanobots shimmering under his touch.

"Not your tech, don't have a hissy. Kid from Tennessee, much smarter than you, worked this out for us," Barry said, relieved for Harley when the older man's face flashed with understanding. "Who's this one for, Matt?"

Matt pulled his hand out of Peter's hair but neither shifted from their slouching hug. "Bug guy."

The guy on the couch shifted to attention. "Wait, what?"

Barry tossed the phone and he caught it when it bounced off his chest. "Don't know her either, who willingly lives in a state with that much seismic activity?"

"How - " Barton started again.

"Nope. You have to make your own informed decisions, but the contact lists might help with that," Barry said, passing the final phone to Stark.

"If you keep your fucking head down and off the streets, you can come with us but we have too many balls in the air right now for anything more," Matt told Peter, both men upright now. "Spider-Man's off the clock until we get these laws overturned."

"You're insane if you think I'm letting you leave without me," Peter said. "Informed decision my ass."

"What about Cap and the others?" Tony asked.

"They don't have ducklings under our umbrella," Barry answered, trying to keep the attention on him so Matt didn't incriminate himself more than as a lawyer.

"Peter's one of mine," Matt stated firmly. "So are they."

The dip in his voice seemed to ping with Barton and his eyes lit up. "What about the Widow?"

"Twenty bucks says she's already in the wind," Matt replied, standing up and smoothing down his suit. Barry zipped the bag and dropped it in Peter's lap and passed Matt his tapping stick in the same motion.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked.

"You need some time to think, I'm sure and I need to check in with Sam." He leaned in and murmured to Barry. "We've got company."

"Good or bad?"

"Unexpected."

* * *

Jennifer Walters was a giant green lawyer that seemed as surprised to see Matt as he was to find her with Sam.

"Pause," Sam said when he caught the same vibe of shock. "Do you know each other?"

"She's a colleague. Foggy said you backed out of the hearings," Matt said.

"I was a person of interest and didn't want to hurt the case. I'm here for my cousin," the woman said. She was so green but her blush was human enough for Barry. "What are you - "

"He's Peter's next of kin and lawyer, the point is - he has permission to be here and you don't - how do we know you weren't followed?" Sam demanded.

"The tracker shows I'm in my hotel room in DC, got a decoy for the heat sensors and everything," Jennifer said.

"How did you know they were back?" Matt asked. "Did you get a call or has it hit the news?"

The woman flushed again. "Bruce called me, he took Mr. Wilson's phone."

Matt groaned, pinching Sam. "Secure your phone, and don't be a snitch, Jen. Did you brief him on - "

"Not yet because they haven't let me see him," she admitted. "I thought I could help get him out of the country or in protective custody, I mean, I'm pretty sure Foggy knows Daredevil and he's been getting people out of the city for months - "

Barry bit back a laugh and Matt frowned at him. He sullenly pulled out an overfilled key-ring and held it out. "Go sit with the others, I need to resolve this situation and they've made good use of their time."

"We should hurry, right?" Barry whispered.

"If I'm not there in ten minutes, come get me," Matt replied with a nod. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thank you both - not you, Walters, you're on my shit list," Sam grumbled.

Barry trusted Matt's hearing and headed back to the conference room. Everyone was in jeans and hoodies instead of the scrubs from before and Cassie's dad ambushed him in a hug before he got completely in the room.

"Okay?" Barry laughed, patting his back.

"Apparently you are a sweet, warm cinnamon roll that we are not allowed to offend," Barton said. "Keys?"

"Matt's got clients in those two and I have questions - who the fuck are you?" Peter asked.

"Let's leave that for later," Barry said, watching Barton twist a key off the ring and slip it in his pocket before passing it to Scott. He didn't know about the keys but assumed they were to safehouses that the kids and Matt's friends consistently maintained around the state.

Tony didn't take a key, dropping the full ring back in Barry's palm. "I'm too public, I gotta take my chances with Steve and the others."

Barry hesitated. "Harley told you about the two year old your wife's hiding in Iceland, right?"

From the look on Stark's and - well, everyone's face - it seemed Harley had *not* told him.

"Dude," Matt said, shaking his stick at him. He closed the door and Tony spun to face him.

"You didn't say - "

Matt folded the stick patiently. "I don't know your wife. I have honestly never met the woman in my life, wouldn't recognize her if I did. Harley's people are his people and it's safer that way."

Clint winked at Barry, snatching the keys back. "Scott, what kind of perfume does Hope wear? Last bottle you bought for her."

Scott blinked, looking up from his phone. "Disco Supernova," he said.

That was a perfume? Did it smell like glitter and sin?

"Newport Beach," Matt said immediately. "She lives on a boat, I hate it."

"What about your wife, Tones?" Clint asked, his smile inching into a full on grin when Tony's face bloomed with understanding.

"Never met her, Barry, we have to go, Jennifer's going to deal with the folks that stay with Sam," Matt said.

"Sunshine," Tony blurted out. Barry wondered if Matt had to study at department store shopping counters or if it was part of his power to know perfumes.

"Baxter Building," Matt sighed.

"If I was talking too much, what are you doing right now?" Barry whispered.

"Harley didn't tell *me* that the Stark widow had a kid, this is his fault," Matt whispered back. "I would have never put her in Susan's building if - "

"Hey, so, how is Susan?" Tony whispered, moving closer and holding up a key.

"Better, we got Johnny released but Reed and Ben are still in government custody. The hearing is really important. What did Harley tell you to do?" Matt asked him directly.

"Take the iron key and hide because everyone was safe but me," Tony said. Barry saw the tiny 'Fe' carved into the metal.

"Then you should probably get in the van with us, we're leaving now. Sammy! We're leaving now!"

"Tell my mom I love her!" Sam yelled back from down the hall.

Barry gave Peter a reassuring look. "We're great at secrets, promise."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I've been fucking with this for weeks. What story am I trying to write? Is it about Barry's clone angst? Is it about Daredevil's underground resistance? Is it about the new gen superheroes rising from the ashes? Fuck it, I don't know. I like it a lot, though, hopefully some of you enjoy it, too.
> 
> *title is taken from a _Houses_ song.
> 
> ([tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/wrtng-thngs-nd-stff))


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